Thinslayer

The End of the World on an X

Solomon wrapped the cloak around himself. "Thank you. And don't worry. The old outfit was getting a bit red for my liking," he joked. Rose chuckled with him. Solomon added, "Also, Rose, since Amalthea will most likely teach me how to use a bow, do you think it's possible for me to learn some of that healing magic you know? The more people in our little trio that know how to heal like that, the better."

Rose put a hand to her chin and pondered. "Becoming a healer isn't easy. In order not to kill anyone with healing magic, you'll have to have at least passing familiarity with human anatomy. Then you'll need practice - months, years of it. Most academies provide corpses to practice on. If I'm to teach you how to heal, you'll need to become just as good at killing so we have material to practice with. I hope you're prepared for that."

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

1. Keep walking. It's a straight shot from the market to the palace - you can even see the gates from where we're standing.
2. He has only to ask. ;)
3. With so much stuff overturned in the confusion, nobody really knows whose is whose. That said, looting during catastrophe is decidedly unheroic, so he may need to restrict himself to items found on the ground. Unlike most medieval towns, Midhaven has flush toilets, so the ground is relatively clean.

Hi, I'm Roen

No. I refuse. xD

jk, Welcome to RPGuild!

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

@AtomicNut
The subspace transmitter crackled. Then a voice stammered:
"What- what in God's name-"
Silence for a few seconds. The voice became a whisper.
"Sykes? Is it really you?"

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

@Avali
The High Priestess squinted.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, waving the letter in her hand.
The messenger prostrated himself to the floor. "Mercy, milady! I only delivered the message! I am not privy to its meaning!"
The High Priestess scoffed and read part of the letter aloud. "'The dragon guardian captured both my daughters. Please send help.' What, does he think we give a crap? He demands our tribute, sends spies and assassins all over my lands, and expects me to send help? Oh, he'll get his help all right. Summon Grace the Paladin."
__________

@AtomicNut
The peak of the tower split open and folded away to reveal a shining glass sphere. It radiated blinding light as electric currents collected around it. Then there was a flash, and a white-hot beam fired from the sphere at the fleeing dragon. The sudden clash of fire and air sent a deafening thunder throughout Midhaven. The dragon swerved, and the shot passed him, leaving a cloud of fog in its wake.

The Reaper looked up in awe. "I haven't heard those guns in five hundred years..."

Back in the tower, Herodotus would see a blip on the map, accompanied by warning text at the bottom of the screen.
"SEED ACTIVITY DETECTED"
__________

@ineffable
Caradras glanced back at Midhaven Tower. "Intriguing. That old fart of a king must have found someone who knows how to activate that tower." Then he looked down at his hand to see Isabella striving in vain to hurt him with her puny sword. "Come, come now, girl, there is no need for that. Do not waste your blade on me. If you do not break it or lose it, I will enhance it when we get back to my lair."

He looked at the girl in his other hand, the woman who was once called Evelyn. Isabella would see her fidgeting and squirming, while her mouth and tongue moved at random. Everything about her seemed...infantile.

The dragon looked back at Isabella. "Your sister has been dead for a few days. The soul that inhabits her now is an Elder Void. It has never been human before, so it will be a while before anything intelligent comes out of her mouth. I would imagine you have some questions for me."
__________

@Darkwatck01
“You doom another in a adventure of ill-gain. March them forth on a path that they no longer have control over. Makes me glad I can not truly join them; however, I am still hungry and my temper has been pushed. Seems that old Salamander can still enrage me quite well.”

“You are gambling, and the stakes that you play with are more than even you can bare. I am sure you remember the last gamble you made, the lives lost. I remember many things, many more things than I should. Much like then, we stand on two different sides. Yet, unlike then I find no orders to hunt.”

The Reaper clenched its fist. "You may remember much, old dragon, but advanced age and great power do not grant you omniscience. Do not try to speak with authority on things you know little about."

@Samdragonx Ravadon handed the Reaper a piece of paper. "Ugh... You wouldn't mind looking at this too for me, would you, Reaper?"
The Reaper held it between the index and thumb, as if it were a disgusting tissue.
"XJUZ-IPER-WETV-ZMQW."
The Reaper felt its heart pick up the pace. This was the Portal's activation code, once known only to a couple select Immortals. Lady Valentine had known the code. For centuries, mages searched in vain for this knowledge, whether to shut down the Portal for good or to open it for their own nefarious purposes. Whole empires rose and fell over this information. And now it lay before the Reaper's very eyes.

The magic embedded in the letter soon hid the text from sight. Only Ravadon could read it freely. The Reaper handed it back. "First, we stop the golems rampaging through Midhaven. Then we make for Skytown. I will explain the letter's meaning to you once we are out of the public eye."

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

@Samdragonx
Quick question about this part:

Does the "tissue" refer to the Letter?

"Ugh... You wouldn't mind looking at this too for me, would you, Reaper?" The seemingly used tissue extended to the Reaper an inviting smell of salty filth and rotten eggs.

The End of the World on an X

"I've made up my mind. I'll keep it hidden for now."

It was in that moment that Amalthea realized who Solomon really listened to. Hadn't she stayed by his side from the very beginning? Hadn't she been loyal to him even before she knew he'd become the Hero? Why did he always listen to that gutless, pathetic, worthless peasant whose only claim on him was some stupid life debt? That girl was nothing but trouble from the first minute she showed up. She once tried to kill them both, but that's okay, because she had that stupid hair and rational ideas. Of course there was no way she might possibly try to betray them all! Solomon probably trusted her because she was so apologetic for having murdered him and gave him puppy eyes. It probably wasn't even the puppy eyes. It had to be her body. There was no other explanation. The subtle elegance of her figure made Amalthea's pronounced curves and bountiful bosom look like an escort's. Seeing her executed for treason would be a pleasure.

The princess trailed her fingers along the hilt of her sword. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her cheeks reddened in anger. While she couldn't control those manifestations of her emotions, she fought with every fiber of her being to keep the rest of her body language neutral - and clamped her mouth shut.

Just you wait.

Solomon continued. "While we are on our way to the kingdom, and maybe even after, depending on how this all goes, I'll start learning. Every weapon, skill, strategy, and... maybe even some magic. After I learned enough, after I help people, after I'm worth bearing this mark, I'll start showing it. For now, however, I haven't learned all that much yet, and I have no skills that show any difference between me and someone without the mark."

He chuckled, then added, "Please tell me one of you grabbed my shirt because I, for one, did not."

Rose smirked a little. "Any volunteers, princess?"

Amalthea ignored her. Rose shrugged. "Guess not. Here." She pulled off her own cloak and draped it over Solomon's back as they walked. "Sorry about that. We can get a new one when we reach town."

OOC Note

It's a lousy hook to leave you on, I know, but it's past midnight and setting up the town will take several more paragraphs and just as many hours. I'll write up that part later.

The End of the World on an X

"Thank you, Amalthea, but you should be proud too. Your shots saved our skins. You are rather skilled with both the sword and the bow. Maybe later, you could train me."
Still high off the adrenaline of battle, the princess drew a long gasp and clutched at her chest. "Oh my gosh! I know, right? We were like a power couple! We were totally badass." She giggled.
Solomon looked back at the solemn girl trailing behind them. "And let's not forget Rose. That was a bold move, jumping into the bank with Amalthea in order to give her the bow and arrows. You both were certainly much bolder than I."
Amalthea offered Rose a condescending smile. "Absolutely. You were a big help today," she said. Rose shrank, saying nothing.

Then, Solomon remarked, "I didn't feel right, doing that."
"How do you mean?" Amalthea replied.
Solomon withdrew a piece of cloth from his pocket and wrapped it around his hand, covering the Mark. "I would rather not use this symbol as a shield. I will use the strengths it gives me to keep us safe, but flashing it about to every assassin is something I will try to avoid. We'll have to find other ways to deal with them, in the coming times."
Rose reached out to touch his back, to comfort him. But it would have crossed a line. Such an intimate gesture should only be shared among friends, people he could trust, not undeserving traitors. Besides, it might make the princess jealous. Her fingers flexed, bent, then curled in - she couldn't bring herself to touch him.

Instead, Rose folded her hands behind her back and increased her pace to approach Solomon's side. She opened her mouth to speak, but Amalthea spoke first. "Why?" the princess asked. "Soldiers display their regalia all the time, showing to the whole world who they're fighting for. Why shouldn't you do the same? You're the Hero, for crying out loud! Everyone should be flocking to your side, and anyone who doesn't is an idiot. Make every enemy make a choice: Join you or die. I mean, it's not like they'll have much choice anyway. If you don't show them the mark, they'll just think you're a nobody and get themselves killed by underestimating you. But if you let your Mark be plainly visible, you'll be giving them a chance."

Before Solomon could reply, Rose said, "No, he's right. The Mark is a trump card. If he plays it too early, he is liable to be manipulated or strong-armed into doing something he shouldn't before he's strong enough to resist. Remember, we only just barely got away from those assassins, and they were relatively new. If we met any serious opposition, they'd just laugh at us and cut off the Marked hand for a trophy. And don't even get me started on orc warriors. Assassins wet themselves when they see orcs. Those green monsters have to fight tooth and nail from the day they're born just to survive. The Mark won't do anyone a whole lot of good until Solomon is strong enough to wield its true power."

"Well," Amalthea retorted, struggling to think of a comeback, "how about we let Solomon decide, hmm?"

The two girls looked to Solomon for an answer.

The End of the World on an X

That's an intriguing angle. I always figured the Mark to be unambiguously positive, but I've been brooding over how it would be viewed politically, and it may have some surprising (and not necessarily good) side effects on that spectrum.

Yeah, I'd like to see more of Solomon's thoughts too. I'll try my best to have the girls not act as if they can read them. xD

The End of the World on an X

As they retreated, Amalthea made the two-finger watching you gesture at the assassins. Then, when they were out of earshot: "Oh, Solomon! You were great!" she crowed. "At first you were all, 'I suggest you turn around and go back the way you came,' and then you're all like, 'there is no shame in a wise retreat.' Ah ha ha ha! That was so awesome! I love it! I love you!" She ribbed him and shot him an uninhibited grin.

Rose looked back at the assassins. The assassins looked back at her. She clenched her fists and tore away her gaze to the path ahead. Rose had just helped kill two young people her age, two people whose failure to see the truth cost them their lives. Regret tugged at her soul. The princess, however, seemed to relish the opportunity to kill her enemies. Solomon might appreciate it, especially when his life was on the line, but Rose couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand it in herself.

Was Solomon okay with killing people? He didn't talk about it much. He'd brutally fought against her men back at the inn, and had no problems smacking around the assassins with his staff. Maybe...maybe she didn't have to feel so guilty about killing him and others if he'd killed people too. But he wouldn't have killed innocents. Not like bloody Rose.

Amalthea had started talking about previous Heroes. The animated way she pitched her voice, the wide-eyed excitement on her face, and the wild waves of her hands spoke not only of interest in the subject, but also of interest in the one addressed. There was no telling yet whether it was simply lust or genuine attraction, but one thing was sure - Rose wouldn't get a chance to impress Solomon tonight. His strategic decision had carried the day, and the princess's deadly shots saved their lives. Rose had just been tossed aside.

And why shouldn't she? She'd tried to kill Solomon. She owed him her life. Being tossed aside by her enemies was the least she deserved. At the capital, she'd likely be hanged, or drawn and quartered if all her crimes came to light. Romance would only get Solomon hurt if he ever reciprocated.

So she shoved it down. She would be his platonic servant to the end. "Thank you for saving us, Solomon," she said at last during a pause in Amalthea's dissertation. "I know I put you in a hard spot, and you really pulled through for us. You're destined for great things."

Amalthea nodded. "It's true! I'm so proud of you, Solomon! Seriously! I can't wait to tell my father all about you. He's going to love you."

Rose just smiled and walked in silence.